FCC weighs dispute over network practices

[Brian Warkoczeski]

FCC weighs dispute over network practices

By Clare Baldwin and Peter Kaplan, www.yahoo.com

April 17, 2008

WASHINGTON/STANFORD, California (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. Federal 
Communications Commission said on Thursday the agency would scrutinize 
whether broadband Internet providers were open with customers about how 
they are managing their networks and make good on the speeds they promise.

Speaking at an agency hearing on broadband services, FCC Chairman Kevin 
Martin said the commission should look closely at the two factors as it 
grapples with what constitutes "reasonable" management of broadband 
networks by providers such as Comcast Corp.

The FCC is looking into complaints from consumer groups that cable 
operator Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) has unreasonably blocked or hindered 
some file-sharing services, such as BitTorrent, that distribute TV shows 
and movies.

"Application designers need to understand what will and what will not 
work on the network, and consumers must be fully informed about the 
exact nature of the service they are purchasing," Martin said in 
comments at the hearing.

"Particularly as broadband providers are trying to provide tiers of 
service, it's critical to make sure that we are understanding that the 
broadband network operators are able to deliver the speeds and service 
that they are selling," Martin said.

Martin and the FCC's other four commissioners held a hearing at Stanford 
University in the heart of Silicon Valley to get input on what 
constitutes "reasonable" network management.

Martin said at a previous hearing on the subject that he was disturbed 
Comcast did not disclose more to customers and application developers 
about the way it manages traffic on its network.

Subsequently last month, Comcast announced it would change the way it 
manages its network and cooperate with BitTorrent and other critics to 
resolve the dispute.

On Tuesday Comcast said it will partner with a second file-sharing 
company and help create a "bill of rights" for consumers and Internet 
service providers.

The dispute over so-called "network neutrality" pits open-Internet 
advocates against some service providers such as Comcast, which say they 
need to take reasonable steps to manage traffic on their networks.

Comcast, which has more than 13 million broadband subscribers, has 
denied impairing some applications and has said it merely manages the 
system to deal with network congestion for the good of all users.

The commissioners heard testimony from a number of experts, ranging from 
a software engineer and a songwriter to a law professor and consumer 
advocate, on how far network operators should be allowed to go in 
managing their networks.

Martin said Comcast and other broadband providers had been invited to 
take part in the hearing but chose not to attend.

Comcast said in a statement on Thursday that it had appeared at the 
previous commission hearing and "felt issues specific to us were well 
covered at the first hearing and the focus of this event should be 
broader than any individual company's issues."

Martin said networks could discriminate against individual applications 
in certain cases such as child pornography. The key question, he said, 
would be whether their actions "further a legitimate purpose."

The commission's two Democrats said called for the FCC to stake out 
strong position that the agency will not tolerate unreasonable 
discrimination against particular content and software applications.

"Consumers don't want the Internet to become just another version of old 
media," said commissioner Jonathan Adelstein.

The two Republicans on the commission said the FCC should take charges 
of anti-competitive tactics seriously, but they said the issue was 
better settled by network engineers in the private marketplace rather 
than the government.

"The point is that the Internet has flourished by operating under the 
principle that engineers should solve engineering problems, not 
politicians and bureaucrats," said Republican commissioner Robert McDowell.

(Reporting by Peter Kaplan, editing by Richard Chang)